Froch, Bellew, Nelson, Smith, Coldwell and Macklin
Friday 21 October 2016 13:42, UK
As Frankie Gavin and Sam Eggington prepare for their Birmingham battle, we asked The Panel to recall fights when bragging rights were at stake.
Local pride is on the line when Gavin faces fellow Brummie Eggington at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
Emotions always run high when fighters collide in front of their own fans and our Sky Sports experts have revealed how they battled for hometown glory...
It has to be Carl Thompson. I was a fan of his but when I got to fight him, I knew he was a bit like Tony Bellew and wore his heart on his sleeve but he didn't handle his emotions as well. I knew I could poke him, frustrate him, get him emotional, but he wasn't very vocal.
When bragging rights comes into it, it adds the pressure. If you do make a noise, everyone in the street stops you to talk about it, and it builds and builds from the moment words are exchanged. The local fans want to see the outcome and if you've set the ball rolling, you have to win that fight. It can rattle the opponent and it does make the win sweeter - but much harder.
For me it was the fight I had with Tony Quigley. It was for the British title and all that meant to me, but Tony had only just won it in a local derby with Tony Dodson. Their fight was called 'Cock of the Dock' and I had loads of people telling me I was going to be the best super-middleweight in Liverpool, when my chance came.
My attitude was, if I win this I am the British champion, and that is when the belt outweighed the fight. Of course I've seen plenty of those local derbies where local pride is on the line. You can't walk down the street without people mentioning the fight, or your opponent, if he's from the same town or city, it's just on everybody's lips. You've got to win those fights and most of the time for the winner, the performance isn't as good as they wanted but they don't care. Winning is all that matters.
The one that stands out was only my eighth professional fight, against Michael Monaghan. He was deluded, he was convinced he was going to beat me. He was from Nottingham and I used to train at the same gym as him, with Fidel Castro Smith.
When we used to spar Monaghan would give it large and try to bully me, so when I turned pro, I knew I would beat him. He didn't say much before it but he always had a chip on his shoulder. I didn't see him again, but the bragging rights were mine anyway.
I kind of had one with Terrace Gaskin. He was from Doncaster, I was from Sheffield and it was in Doncaster for the Area title. It was different for us at that level because we were way down the undercard for Ryan Rhodes against Jason Matthews, but it was all about winning the local derby. Not the same war of words, but you are fighting for your area, your family and friends and it does make it a little bit more special.
I've had plenty of local derbies as a trainer or manager but it doesn't even have to be local. Remember when Rhodes and Jamie Moore were the two biggest British names. They will be remembered for that fight, and I said to Ryan at the time, no matter what you go on to achieve, people will always talk about that fight.
Definitely the one over the Welsh fellow, the rematch was the absolute best. In the rematch, although it wasn't a good fight, I just bullied him for 12 rounds, I pushed him back and I didn't tire because I wasn't weight drained. Everything that went wrong in the first fight, went right in the second, even though it wasn't the best display.
It's not always personal. Sometimes it isn't. I don't think I would get caught up in a personal fight again. The one time I did was the rematch with the other fellow and I was exhausted before I got to the ring. It drained me physically, it really did. Lesson learned.
When I fought Wayne Elcock for the British middleweight title back in 2009. We were both from Birmingham and on top of that he was trained by Paddy Lynch, who trained me when I first turned professional and even the amateurs, so there was plenty of needle for that.
There was bragging rights for sure but it wasn't that bad. I was training in Manchester - it was actually my first fight under Joe Gallagher - but the only time it really gathered momentum was in fight week. There were things in the local paper with people picking their winner, but there was no animosity and it wasn't a grudge match. But you can be as respectful as you want when it comes to the fighter, but the bottom line is you are from the same city, you are fighting and the bragging rights are there.
Watch Sam Eggington v Frankie Gavin live on Sky Sports 2, from 8pm on Saturday.
